Mobile Securities Trading Platform

ABSTRACT

A mobile securities trading platform interface may include a mobile order entry portion, a mobile portfolio view portion, a mobile stock price view portion, an investment education video programming portion (which may also be provided on a non-mobile version of the platform), and a portion for following trades of other users on the platform (which may also be provided on a non-mobile version of the platform).

PRIORITY STATEMENT

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application62/063,695 filed Oct. 14, 2014.

BACKGROUND

a. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to a mobile securities tradingplatform, including a mobile platform for trading stock options, whichmobile platform may include educational and entertainment content aswell as mobile visual trade order entry, mobile portfolio view, and/ormobile stock price view.

b. Background Art

The development of online stock brokerage has led to the proliferationof computer-based brokerage and investment applications. The focus ofthese applications have typically been to provide sophisticatedconsumers with more and more complex tools to analyze investmentopportunities. These tools may include complex charting, order routingand product discovery. The end result is that the average consumer isleft more overwhelmed than assisted by the current investmentapplications.

Known trading platforms and tools generally do not provide adequateeducational tools or adequate mobile tools for beginning investors,casual investors, and other investors, leaving investors of all typeswith tools that are too complex, cumbersome, non-mobile friendly, andgenerally too impractical to use on the go or through a mobileinterface. Accordingly, there is a need for a more robust mobileplatform for trading and managing a portfolio of diverse securities thatalso provides a robust set of educational tools for investors.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An objective of the present disclosure is a trading platform thatovercomes the deficiencies of existing platforms and systems byproviding an improved mobile platform and/or providing improvedinvestment educational content. For example, the trading platform may beconfigured to provide a mobile platform interface (e.g., specificallydesigned and provided for mobile phones, tablets, etc.) that enables atrader (i.e., user of the platform) to review market data, review thetrader's portfolio, order trades, and perform other functions. Thus, inan embodiment, the mobile platform interface may include a mobile orderentry portion, a mobile portfolio view portion, a mobile stock priceview portion, an investment education video programming and interactivequiz portion (which may also be provided on a non-mobile version of theplatform), and a portion for following trades of other users on theplatform (which may also be provided on a non-mobile version of theplatform).

In an embodiment, the trading platform may be provided to a user'sdevice by a trading platform server. The trading platform server may beconfigured to, among other things, perform a method for presentingsecurities trading information. The method may comprise providing a menuof a plurality of individuals, wherein each of the plurality ofindividuals is associated with a respective one or more securitiestrades made through a trading platform, receiving, from a user who isnot one of the plurality of individuals, a selection of at least one ofthe plurality of individuals, and providing, for the user, a graphicaldisplay of the respective one or more securities trades made through thetrading platform

Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will becomeapparent to one having ordinary skill in the art after reading thespecification in light of the drawing figures, however, the spirit andscope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the descriptionof the embodiments contained herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram view of an exemplary embodiment of a securitytrading system.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram view of an exemplary embodiment of a securitytrading system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a mobileorder entry interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of asecurities trading platform.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a mobileorder entry interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of asecurities trading platform.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a mobileorder entry interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of asecurities trading platform.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a mobileorder entry interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of asecurities trading platform.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a portfolioview interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of a securitiestrading platform.

FIG. 7 is illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of aportfolio view interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of asecurities trading platform.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a stock priceview interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of a securitiestrading platform.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a stock priceview interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of a securitiestrading platform.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a stockprice view interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of asecurities trading platform.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a stockprice view interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of asecurities trading platform.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a stockprice view interface that may be provided in a mobile portion of asecurities trading platform.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of an interfacefor following the trading activity of other traders that may be providedin a securities trading platform.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a portion of an interfacefor following the trading activity of other traders that may be providedin a securities trading platform.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to thesame or similar features in the various views, FIG. 1A is a blockdiagram view of an exemplary system 10 for trading securities. Thesystem 10 may include a plurality of trader computing systems 12 (threesuch trader computer systems are illustrated in FIG. 1), a tradingplatform server 14, a trade history database 16, a brokerage 18, and asecurities exchange 20.

The securities exchange 20 may be a marketplace for buying and sellingsecurities (not shown) such as, for example only, stocks, bonds,futures, and options. The exchange 20 may be or may include anelectronic marketplace, a live marketplace, or any other type ofmarketplace for buying and selling securities (not shown). The presentdisclosure will be described with reference to embodiments in which thetraders purchase and sell, and the brokerage 18 facilitates the purchaseand sale of, stock options. It should be understood, however, that thepresent disclosure is not limited to stock options. Rather, the systemand methods illustrated and described herein may find use with any typeof securities.

The brokerage 18 may facilitate buying and selling of stock options bytraders on the exchange 20. Accordingly, the brokerage 18 may be incommunication with the traders (i.e., through the trader computersystems 12 and/or the trading platform server 14, in an embodiment) andwith the exchange 20. In an embodiment, the brokerage 18 may receiveorders for buying and selling stock options electronically from thetraders and perform the ordered trades on the exchange 20 or cause theordered trades to be performed on the exchange 20.

Each of the trader computing systems 12 may be configured to provideaccess to a trading platform 10. The trading platform may be operated bya trader to, for example, order option trades on the exchange, viewstock and options prices and other trading data, access educational andentertainment materials, and view data respective of one or moreaccounts held by the user with the brokerage 18. The trading platformmay include one or more features set forth in U.S. provisionalapplication No. 61/883,676, filed Sep. 27, 2013 (“the '676application”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

A trader computing system 12 may be or may include a mobile device(e.g., a mobile phone, tablet, etc.), in an embodiment. Additionally oralternatively, a trader computing system 12 may be or may include apersonal computer or other computing device.

The trading platform server 14 may be configured to perform a number offunctions to assist traders in their trading decisions. For example, thetrading platform server 14 may be configured to provide stock andoptions prices, educational and entertainment information, and otherinformation to traders through the trader computer systems 12. Stock andoptions prices may be obtained by the trading platform server 14, in anembodiment, from the brokerage 18 and/or from the securities exchange20.

The trading platform server 14 may be further configured to store datain and retrieve data from the trade data database 16. Data stored in thetrade data database 16 may include records of trades ordered by traders,records of trades executed by or through the brokerage 18, historicalstock and options prices, and similar information related to tradingservices that may be performed through the trading platform.

The database 16 may be or may include one or more data repositoriesincluding, but not limited to, one or more databases and database typesas well as data storage that may not necessarily be colloquiallyreferred to as a “database.” The database 16 may be configured to store,e.g., records of trades ordered by traders, records of trades executedby or through the brokerage 18, historical stock and options prices, andsimilar information related to trading services that may be performedthrough the trading platform.

The trading platform server 14 may be in electronic communication withthe trader computer systems 12 and with the brokerage 18 to obtain anddeliver stock and options prices, trader orders, and other information,in an embodiment. In embodiments, the trading platform server 14 may beowned or operated by the brokerage 18. Furthermore, the trade platformserver 14 may be a single server, or multiple servers acting in aredundant or additive capacity.

In embodiments, the trader computer systems 12 may be configured toperform one or more of the functions described herein with reference tothe trading platform server 14 and/or the brokerage 18. Accordingly, thetrader computer systems 12 may be in direct electronic communicationwith the brokerage 18, the trade data database 16, and/or the securitiesexchange 20.

The trading platform server 14 may include a processor 22 and a memory24. The processor 22 may be any appropriate processing device. Thememory 24 may be any volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory.The memory 24 may be configured to store instructions that embody one ormore steps, methods, processes, and functions of the trading platformserver 14 described herein. The processor 22 may be configured toexecute those instructions to perform one or more of the same steps,methods, processes, and functions.

Each of the trader computer systems 12 may also include a processor 26and a memory 28, with three processors and three memories illustrated inFIG. 1. Each processor 26 may be any appropriate processing device. Eachmemory 28 may be any volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memoryand may be configured to store instructions that embody one or moresteps, methods, processes, and functions of the trader or tradercomputer system 12 described herein. The processor 26 may be configuredto execute those instructions to perform one or more of the same steps,methods, processes, and functions. One or more of the trader computersystems 12 may be or may include a personal computer or mobile device(e.g., tablet, smartphone), in an embodiment.

Instead of, or in addition to, a processor 22, 26 and memory 24, 28, thetrading platform server 14 and/or one or more of the trader computersystems 12 may include a programmable logic device (PLD),application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other suitableprocessing device (not shown).

As noted above, a trader in the system may be provided with a platformfor, among other things, ordering the purchase and sale of stockoptions, reviewing trading data, and accessing educational andentertainment information. The platform may be provided, in anembodiment, by both the trader computer system 12 and the tradingplatform server 14. That is, some elements or features of the platformmay be installed on the trader computer system 12, and other elements orfeatures of the platform may be provided by the trading platform server14 (e.g., on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) basis). For example, thetrader computer system 12 may provide (i.e., may have installed) aprogram that includes a graphical user interface of the platform, andthe trading platform server 14 may provide much of the underlying dataand calculations. However, storage and retrieval of data displayed inthe platform 10, calculations performed by or under the platform, andservices provided through the platform may be performed by one or bothof the trader computer system 12 and the trading platform server 14.

The platform may include a number of features that enhance the tradingexperience for a trader. For example, the platform may be configured to,among other things: enable entry of trade orders through a mobiledevice; provide a graphical view of a user's portfolio on a mobiledevice; provide a graphical view of prices of stocks and othersecurities on a mobile device; provide investment education programming;provide modification of a trade order through a mobile device; provideclosing of an order through a mobile device; and enable users to followthe trading activity of select other users. As described above, thesefunctions may be performed by one or both of the trading platform server14 and the trader computer system 12. For ease of discussion, thesefunctions are described below with reference to methods comprising stepsperformed primarily by the trading platform server 14. It should beunderstood, however, that the methods described below are not restrictedto performance by the trading platform server 14.

FIG. 1B is a second embodiment of a system 10′ for trading securities.The system 10′ may have many of the same or similar components as thesystem 10 illustrated in and described with respect to FIG. 1A.Accordingly, the description set forth above for such elements appliesto the system 10′, as well.

The system 10′ may include a direct connection between one or more ofthe trader computer systems 12 and a brokerage application programminginterface (API) 17, in an embodiment. The brokerage API may be provided,in an embodiment, by a brokerage (e.g., the brokerage 18 of FIG. 1A).The brokerage API 17 may provide access to the functions of thesecurities exchange 20, in an embodiment.

The brokerage API 17 may be provided by or accessed through the tradingplatform server 14 (illustrated in FIG. 1B as the trade data, analysis,and support server 14), in an embodiment. Thus, the trading platformserver may provide access to a trading platform in which the functionsof the trading platform server and the functions enabled by thebrokerage API 17 are accessed by a trader through a single interface, inan embodiment.

Alternatively, the brokerage API 17 may be hosted by a server or systemseparate from the trading platform server 14, such as a server at abrokerage. In such an embodiment, the functionality provided by thebrokerage API 17 may be accessed through an interface separate from thatprovided by the trading platform server 14.

Among the many capabilities of the trading platform server, the tradingplatform server may be configured to provide certain interfaces andfeatures specifically for mobile devices. For example, the tradingplatform server may provide interfaces and features for mobile devicesthrough a dedicated application running on the mobile devices and/orthrough a device-detection-based redirection module in the tradingplatform server or in electronic communication with the trading platformserver.

Mobile Order Entry.

One mobile-specific interface that may be provided is mobile orderentry. The mobile order entry interface may be configured to enable auser to set up, edit, and execute an order in a quick and completefashion using a visual interface. In an embodiment, an order may involvean order for a stock option trade.

Setting up an options trade may involve the adjustment of many differentvariables in order to place a trade. As stock and security markets aregenerally open five (5) days a week, and traders are not always by ahome computer, a mobile trading solution can provide improved access andflexibility to a trader by allowing adjustment of those variablesthrough a mobile device to place a trade order.

From the point of view of the trader, setting up a new option trade,modification of an existing trade or closing of an existing position,through a computerized platform may involve a series of steps, each ofwhich may be enabled by a mobile order entry interface according to thepresent disclosure: (1) select stock symbol to trade, (2) pick astrategy/position to trade in that symbol, (3) edit the variables of theposition (e.g., time to expiration, strike selection, buy/sell), (4)edit order details (price, quantity, order type) and (5) review andplace or send the order.

In an embodiment, the mobile trading platform may include separateinterface portions for each of above-noted steps (1)-(5). FIGS. 2-5illustrate exemplary interface portions associated with steps (2)-(5).

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary mobile interface portion 30 for pickinga strategy/position to trade in for a selected symbol (referred toherein as the “strategy interface” 30). The strategy interface 30 mayinclude a diagrammatic and spatial display for the user, in anembodiment. The strategy interface 30 may display, for example, stockprice 32, option price 34, a bell curve 36 to illustrate the stock'srelative price distribution for the remaining duration between thecurrent trading day and the a given option expiration, and marks 38, 40relative to the bell curve 36 for one and two standard deviations in theprice distribution.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the data provided in the strategy interface30 may be stored in and retrieved from the database 16, in anembodiment. Thus, in an embodiment, the trading platform server 14 maybe configured to retrieve data from the database 16, including datarelated to the user and/or data related to one or more stocks,securities, etc., and display that data for the user in the strategyinterface 30 and/or another interface described and/or illustrated inthis disclosure.

In an embodiment, the trading platform server 14 may be configured toprovide a set of predefined strategies 42 that the user can access inthe strategy interface 30 in order to reduce the user's time spent onsetting up the trade. In an embodiment, each strategy may be providedwith long or short variations. When a user selects a predefined strategyand the long or short variation of that strategy, the trading platformserver may set the trade up accordingly according to the current priceof the selected stock, according to a probability of profit calculation,according to the expiration of the option, and/or according to theimplied volatility of the option. Further discussion of a probability ofprofitability calculation is included in U.S. provisional applicationNo. 61/991,683, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary position edit interface portion 44. Itis common to edit a position's variables once it has been set up andprior to sending the order. In an embodiment, the position editinterface portion 44 may enable the user to adjust position variables,without having to clear the position in its entirety, by using singletouch controls. Control elements (e.g., radio buttons, sliders,increment/decrement controls, etc.) may be provided in the position editinterface portion for time, strike selection 46, buy/sell 48, and spreadwidth 50, for example. The position edit interface portion 44 mayfurther include a manual price entry control element, in an embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, in an embodiment, for each adjustment to aposition made by the user through the strategy edit interface 44, thetrading platform server 14 may recalculate the user's probability ofprofit, extrinsic value, spread price, profit and loss zones, and thestock's price distribution curve and to present the recalculated datafor the user through the strategy edit interface 44.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary order edit interface 52. The order editinterface may enable the user to adjust the variables of the order inthe same fashion that the user is able to adjust the strategy, in anembodiment. That is, the order edit interface 52 may include controlelements for quantity 54, price 56, and trade type 58, for example.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary order review and placement interface 60.In an embodiment, before the user sends an order, the order review andplacement interface 60 may display a diagrammatical and spatial snapshotof the trade. The order review and placement interface 60 may includeportions illustrating the profit and loss zones 62 for quick evaluationof risk, strategy 64, stock symbol 66, details for each leg of theposition 68, order type 70, and option price 72. The informationincluded in the order review and placement interface 60 may provide theuser with a holistic visual description of the trade before it is sent.The order review and placement interface 60 may further include an orderplacement control element 74. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, when the userselects the order placement control element 74, the trading platformserver 14 may execute the trade ordered by the user through theinterface portions 30, 44, 52, 60 of FIGS. 2-5.

Mobile Portfolio View.

Much like the ability to place trade orders, the ability to view andeasily understand a portfolio on a mobile device can greatly aid a userof the trading platform. Accordingly, referring to FIG. 1, the tradingplatform server 14 may be configured to provide a portfolio viewinterface for a user that is specifically designed and provided for amobile device.

An exemplary portfolio view may include separate portions for viewingthe portfolio and for viewing individual components (where a componentmay be, in an exemplary embodiment, an option or stock, or other futuresor securities, held by the user) of the portfolio, in an embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary portfolio view interface portion 74. Theportfolio view interface portion 74 may include, in an embodiment, alist of a particular user's open stock and option positions, or otherfutures or other securities. The portfolio view interface portion 74thus may provide a convenient and simplistic means to manage positionsand overall risk. In an embodiment, the portfolio view interface portion74 may include (e.g., for both each individual open position and for theportfolio as a whole), for example, a probability of profit 76, anextrinsic value 78, a total net gain 80 from existing open positions,and a net change 82 for a given period of time (e.g., for the current ormost recent trading day).

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, the data shown in the portfolio viewinterface portion 74 may be retrieved from the database 16 by thetrading platform server 14 and processed by the server 14 into visualdepictions of the data that are presented in the portfolio viewinterface portion 74.

The calculation of an overall probability of profit for an individualuser may be accomplished by comparing all of the user's individualpositions to that of a common stock index, in an embodiment. Theindividual positions may be mapped to the common index through use of acorrelation variable such as, for example and without limitation, Beta,to identify the approximate move that an overall index can make thatwould result in profitable individual positions. The visual display oftheir probability of profit for individual positions enables a user togauge a level of understanding with respect to his or her portfolio'sprobability of success

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary portfolio component interface portion84. The portfolio component interface portion 84 may include informationrespective of a single investment in the user's portfolio (e.g., asingle option or stock), in an embodiment. For example, the portfoliocomponent interface portion 84 may include data such as, for exampleonly, Delta 86, Theta 88, and open profit/loss 90 for the investment.

Mobile Price View.

As markets trade and move every day, it can be useful for a user to viewchanges in stock prices on their mobile devices. Accordingly, referringto FIG. 1, the trading platform server may be configured to provide astock price view interface portion (which may be referred to as a priceview interface) for viewing prices and other information respective ofstocks and securities, for example. The price view interface will bedescribed with reference to an embodiment in which all prices are stockprices, but the price view interface is not so limited except asspecified in the claims.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary price view interface portion 92including a pre-populated set of “notable” stocks. Referring to FIGS. 1and 8, the trading platform server 14 may be configured to selectparticular stocks as “notable.” The trading platform server 14 may alsoprovide additional or alternative pre-populated sets of stocks for theprice view interface 92.

Within the price view interface 92, in an embodiment, stocks may beshown in visual tiles 94 (for visual clarity, not all tiles 94 areindicated in FIG. 8), colored based on the change in the price of thestock during the present or most recent trading day, for example. Tiles94 may include additional information related to the stock, such as thesymbol of the stock, the price of the stock, and the change in price ofthe stock for the present or most recent trading day, in an embodiment.

A user may select a stock from the price view interface portion 92 toview additional information about the stock, in an embodiment. FIGS. 9and 10 illustrate the price view interface portion of FIG. 8, withadditional information portions that may be provided. For example, asshown in FIG. 9, information 96 about the stock related to why the stockwas selected for a pre-populated list may be provided. Additionally oralternatively, as shown in FIG. 10, more in-depth information 98 aboutthe stock may be provided, such as stock symbol, the last price, netchange for the day, and a percentile display. The percentile display canbe indicative of the relationship between the current price and the52-week high and low price or between the implied volatility and the52-week historical implied volatility.

In addition to or instead of pre-populated lists, the price viewinterface may show a list of stocks selected by a user. FIG. 11illustrates a price view interface portion 100 including stocks selectedby a user. The user may select stocks for display through some otherportion of the platform, in an embodiment.

In both user-selected lists and pre-populated lists, the price viewinterface 92, 100 may include filtering tools. For example, as shown inFIG. 12, filters 102 may be related to earnings (e.g., stocks withupcoming earnings announcements) or implied volatility. Additionalfilters may be related to stock symbol, net change, percent change, andlast price. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 12, the data used to properlyprocess the filter requests can come from the database 14 and/orbrokerage 18, and the filters may be applied to the data by the tradingplatform server.

Investment Education Video Programming.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the trading platform server 14 may beconfigured to provide one or more items of investment education videoprogramming. For example, the database 16 may store one or moreinvestment education videos that may be streamed by a user computersystem 12 through the trading platform server 14. Additionally oralternatively, the trading platform server 14 may provide a live streamof one or more investment education video feeds. The videos may beaccessible from a user's PC, mobile device, etc. In an embodiment, theinvestment education video programming may be provided as a portion ofand/or accessed through the mobile interface of the trading platform.

Instead of or in addition to more traditional investor education, theeducational video programming of the trading platform may includecontent based on a “learn by watching others do” style of education. Asa result, the educational content may be entertaining, easy tounderstand and actionable.

In one aspect of the educational content, users may be able to watchother real traders trading live while they discuss the trades they aremaking and the mechanics they adhere to when placing trades. It shouldbe appreciated that the real traders can be users of the platform,professional traders, retail traders, or fictitious traders processedfrom the investment data and investment education data, for example.

In another aspect of the educational content, users may watch (e.g., thetrading platform server may be configured to provide) pre-producedpieces that are designed to answer basic investment questions to betteracclimate the user with some common options and trading terminology byaddressing specific investor education topics, and by relaying briefsynopsizes of trades made by an array of the real traders.

Displaying Trading Activity of Selected Traders.

In addition to the above-described educational video content, thetrading platform may provide users with a real-time trade feedconsisting of real trades executed by professional traders through thetrading platform, which may be referred to herein as a user “following”one or more traders. In an embodiment, the trading platform server 14may provide real-time feeds of a diverse mix of traders with differentaccount sizes, levels of experience, levels of risk, etc. so thatdifferent users can relate to different ones of the traders and learnfrom their respective trading styles.

Referring to FIG. 1, in an embodiment, the trading platform server 14may be configured to execute a method to provide a user with the abilityto follow one or more traders on the trading platform. A first step ofthe method may include providing a menu of a plurality of individuals,wherein each of the plurality of individuals is associated with arespective one or more securities trades made through the tradingplatform. An exemplary interface 104 providing such a menu 106 (referredto herein as a trader menu 106) is illustrated in FIG. 13. Asillustrated, the trader menu 106 may include a listing of traders andcharacteristics of the traders and/or their accounts. For example, in anembodiment, each trader's name 108, trading experience 110, account size112, and risk tolerance 114 may be provided.

Additionally or alternatively, the menu of a plurality of individualsmay include and/or may be sorted by a list of recent trades made by theplurality of individuals. One such exemplary menu 110 is illustrated inFIG. 14. In an embodiment, such a menu 110 may include a listing oftrades, with a stock symbol and position listed for each trade.Furthermore, in an embodiment, one or more of the trade listings mayinclude commentary from the trader. The trader commentary may include,for example, a rationale for one or more aspects of the trade.

The method may continue to a step that includes receiving, from a userwho is not one of the plurality of individuals, a selection of at leastone of the plurality of individuals. That is, a user of the tradingplatform who is not one of the professional traders may provide aselection of one or more of the professional traders to follow. A usermay select one of the individuals through one of the menus 106, 110illustrated in FIG. 13 or FIG. 14, in an embodiment. The user may selectan individual trader, or may select a group of traders directly (e.g.,by explicitly selecting the traders in the group) or indirectly (e.g.,by applying one or more filters to the list of traders in the menu).Such filters may include only closing trades, only opening trades,trades made that day, trades made the previous day, and trades made theprevious week. The server retrieves that data from the database andprocesses it to match the requests made by the user.

The method may further continue to a step that includes providing, forthe user, a graphical display of the respective one or more securitiestrades made through the trading platform by the selected at least one ofthe plurality of individuals. For example, a list of all trades (or asubset of all trades) made by the selected one or more traders may beprovided. For each trade, information related to the trade may beprovided, such as trade structure, type of strategy, probability ofprofit, time of trade, underlying quote, visual snapshots of thediagrammatical and spatial display of the trade at the time it was sent,and related diagrams, for example.

In addition to a list of trades made by one or more traders, the followfeature may include biographical information about the traders, tradecommentary from the traders, and/or additional data for any given stockand/or option position of the one or more traders.

Various embodiments are described herein to various apparatuses,systems, and/or methods. Numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the overall structure, function,manufacture, and use of the embodiments as described in thespecification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, however, that the embodimentsmay be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,well-known operations, components, and elements have not been describedin detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described in thespecification. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand thatthe embodiments described and illustrated herein are non-limitingexamples, and thus it can be appreciated that the specific structuraland functional details disclosed herein may be representative and do notnecessarily limit the scope of the embodiments, the scope of which isdefined solely by the appended claims.

Reference throughout the specification to “various embodiments,” “someembodiments,” “one embodiment,” or “an embodiment”, or the like, meansthat a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described inconnection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment.Thus, appearances of the phrases “in various embodiments,” “in someembodiments,” “in one embodiment,” or “in an embodiment”, or the like,in places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referringto the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments. Thus, the particular features, structures, orcharacteristics illustrated or described in connection with oneembodiment may be combined, in whole or in part, with the featuresstructures, or characteristics of one or more other embodiments withoutlimitation given that such combination is not illogical ornon-functional.

Although numerous embodiments of this invention have been describedabove with a certain degree of particularity, those skilled in the artcould make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. All directionalreferences (e.g., plus, minus, upper, lower, upward, downward, left,right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical,horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used foridentification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the presentdisclosure, and do not create limitations, particularly as to theposition, orientation, or use of the any aspect of the disclosure. Asused herein, the phrased “configured to,” “configured for,” and similarphrases indicate that the subject device, apparatus, or system isdesigned and/or constructed (e.g., through appropriate hardware,software, and/or components) to fulfill one or more specific objectpurposes, not that the subject device, apparatus, or system is merelycapable of performing the object purpose. Joinder references (e.g.,attached, coupled, connected, and the like) are to be construed broadlyand may include intermediate members between a connection of elementsand relative movement between elements. As such, joinder references donot necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and infixed relation to each other. It is intended that all matter containedin the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. Changes in detail orstructure may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventionas defined in the appended claims.

Any patent, publication, or other disclosure material, in whole or inpart, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein isincorporated herein only to the extent that the incorporated materialsdoes not conflict with existing definitions, statements, or otherdisclosure material set forth in this disclosure. As such, and to theextent necessary, the disclosure as explicitly set forth hereinsupersedes any conflicting material incorporated herein by reference.Any material, or portion thereof, that is said to be incorporated byreference herein, but which conflicts with existing definitions,statements, or other disclosure material set forth herein will only beincorporated to the extent that no conflict arises between thatincorporated material and the existing disclosure material.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for presenting securities tradinginformation to a user of a trading platform, the method comprising: a)providing a menu of a plurality of individuals to said user of saidtrading platform, wherein each of the plurality of individuals isassociated with a respective one or more securities trades made throughsaid trading platform; b) receiving, from said user of said tradingplatform, a selection of at least one of the plurality of individuals;c) providing, for said user of said trading platform, a graphicaldisplay of the respective one or more securities trades made through thetrading platform; and. d) providing, for said user of said tradingplatform, an investment information programming through said tradingplatform.
 2. The method for presenting securities trading information toa user of a trading platform of claim 1, wherein said investmentinformation programming comprises one or more investment informationvideos.
 3. The method for presenting securities trading information to auser of a trading platform of claim 1, wherein said investmentinformation programming comprises a live stream of an investmenteducation video feed.
 4. The method for presenting securities tradinginformation to a user of a trading platform of claim 1, wherein saidinvestment information programming comprises video of one or moretrading individuals, trading in real time and communicating over saidtrading platform about the security trades being made in real time. 5.The method for presenting securities trading information to a user of atrading platform of claim 1, wherein the providing, for said user, saidgraphical display of the respective one or more securities trades madethrough the trading platform occurs in real time.
 6. The method forpresenting securities trading information to a user of a tradingplatform of claim 1, wherein the providing, for said user, saidinvestment information programming through said trading platform occursin real time.
 7. A non-transitory, computer-readable memory storinginstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform a method for presenting securities trading informationpertaining to securities trades made through a trading platform to auser of said trading platform, the method comprising: a) collectinginformation respective of one or more transactions related to securitiestrading made by a plurality of individual traders through said tradingplatform; b) collecting characteristics of each of said plurality ofindividual traders; c) generating a graphical display of said one ormore transactions related to securities trading made by said pluralityof individual traders; d) displaying said graphical display to said userof said trading platform; e) listing said characteristics of each ofsaid plurality of individual traders to said user of said tradingplatform; f) receiving from said user of said trading platform aselection of at least one of said plurality of individual traders; andg) providing to said user of said trading platform, securities tradinginformation pertaining to the one or more securities tradingtransactions of said at least one of said plurality of individualtraders selected by said user of said trading platform.
 8. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable memory of claim 7, wherein thecharacteristics of each of said plurality of individual traders includesone or more of a name, trading experience, account size, and risktolerance.
 9. The non-transitory, computer-readable memory of claim 7,wherein the providing to said user of said trading platform a graphicaldisplay occurs in real time.
 10. The non-transitory, computer-readablememory of claim 7, wherein said at least one of said plurality ofindividual traders selected by said user of said trading platformprovides a rationale for a particular transaction.
 11. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein thesecurities trading information comprises a graphical display of the oneor more securities trading transactions of said at least one of saidplurality of individual traders selected by said user of said tradingplatform.
 12. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 7,wherein the securities trading information comprises a listing of theone or more securities trading transactions of said at least one of saidplurality of individual traders selected by said user of said tradingplatform.
 13. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 7,wherein the securities trading information comprises one or more oftrade structure, type of trade, probability of profit, time of trade,underlying quote visual snapshots of the diagrammatical and spatialdisplay of the trade at the time it was sent, of the one or moresecurities trading transactions of said at least one of said pluralityof individual traders selected by said user of said trading platform.14. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein thesecurities trading information comprises one or more of biographicalinformation of, trade commentary by, additional data for a related stockor option of the one or more securities trading transactions of said atleast one of said plurality of individual traders selected by said userof said trading platform.